1.8L Duratorq TDCi noises?

Hi All,
Daughter has just picked up a fairly clean, 100K 2003 1.8 TDCi (75PS)
Transit Connect and whilst it seems to start and run well, it can make

some strange clacking / clicking noises (from what sounds like the lhs
when looking at it) when first started.
I managed to record it on my phone the other day. After she started it
from cold it seemed quiet for the first 60 seconds then I started to
hear the noise that got worse to it's worst towards the end of minute
3. I think it goes away ones it's been running a bit longer or warmed
up.
It's the noise you may be able to hear in the background (behind the
std diesel noises).
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5772409/18TDC1%20noises.mp3
A couple of lads on the Transit Forum suggest it's a noisy injector
pump and as long as it just stays noisy and doesn't fail, (writing the
engine off?) then I guess it's just 'a noise'.
I'm asking here as I believe that engine is also used in the Focus and
many here have dealt with them?
New pumps seem to be around 500 quid and whilst it doesn't look like
the pump itself needs 'connecting' into the vans electronic system,
the injectors may need re-calibrating or summat (but that can be done
via the FORscan software)?
Any practical advice would be appreciated please. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
p.s. Apparently it's had a cambelt kit and water pump recently.

I cannot remember where it is on one of those, but could it be a dying
vacuum pump for the brakes? If it is over there you could maybe unbolt
it and see if the noise stops.
You can also use a mechanics stethoscope or a long screwdriver to listen
to individual bits. Another possible is the DMF flywheel starting to
let go.

Had a chat with daughter when she came in and the plot thickens (or
there could be two or more plots going on here).
After several miles of urban driving a screechy / belt-slippy / dry
bearing (I've heard it briefly myself previously) noise started and
then got a bit louder just as they reached their destination. As she
braked to a halt the noise stopped and didn't restart after releasing
the brake.
Later, when nearly the same distance back home and in traffic, the
noise came in and built up and seemed to die down at the same time as
they felt a jolt from the engine and repeated that a couple of times.
They tried different things and after edging forward a bit, breaked
and the noise stopped again. Blipping the throttle didn't seem to
affect anything.
So, does this (particular) scenario point towards your vacuum pump
thought please? If so and if I'm looking at the right thing, they
don't look that expensive (50 quid on eBay)?
Cheers, T i m

Hmm, that doesn't sound good either (over a failing fuel or vacuum
pump). ;-(
To be fair she got this lwb / high top Connect pretty cheap and only
really intends to use it on local trips. Should the worst happen (and
the engine lets go) she can either find a second hand engine or look
for another van ... either way she will have to spend more money on it
and I'm beginning to think there isn't such as a indestructible
solution these days. ;-(
Before the Connect she was looking at a Nissan Primastar (Renault
Trafic / Vauxhall Vivaro) but it looks like they all eat gearboxes.
;-(
She's very happy the way the Connect drives (and she also drives the
full Transit vans and trucks at work) and she says it's the first
thing she says she likes as much as her Corsa (and her Suzuki 600
Bandit). ;-)
Cheers, T i m

Nope, not with vans. Having gone through the whole van-finding thing for
a friend, they all seem to have big black marks of different sorts
against them.

And a Vx Vivaro was where he ended up. And while the gearbox tales do
seem a complete no-no, I've got a friend whose works' have had several
and not been problematic. Although these are of course new and under
warrantee.
I do wonder if a second hand van is fundamentally a bad idea. The HP'd
ones don't seem to get much more than very basic servicing at intervals
that make even me cringe (I run 18k intervals on my car happily) and
once out of that it makes you wonder if Joe Plumber can even be bothered
to top the oil up let alone change it.

Shame. I did briefly look at Mk1 Transits thinking the old 2L Pinto
and no fancy turbos or electronics would make it very cheap to
maintain. Not cheap to buy now though (for a clean / runner I mean).
;-(

The one she looked at (for around 2k) had just had £1500 work done on
it, inc a new (another) gearbox.

I'm sure some of this can depend on how they are driven, what sorts of
loads they carry, their duty cycle and (as you say later), how they
are maintained.

Reduces the cost if not the aggravation.

I was trying suggest she get something like a second hand Zaferia (one
of the non self combusting models of course) and just use (and insure)
it as a van?

Yup. Her Connect was previously owned by a mechanic and you know what
they say about cobblers shoes ... ;-(
Cheers, T i m

If the pump fails it tends to knacker the injectors, first sign is low
cranking pressure as a Diagnostic Trouble Code often the heater plug
light will flash.

Same engine in focus but possibly higher power (we fitted a 115ps one
as a replacement)

The injectors aren't coded, nor is the pump. Better to spend money on
a ids clone, I didn't think much of the forscan. You can see the
injector pulses in real time if you get through the arcane menu
system.
Aero injectors are pants.

Ok, I'll make sure she keeps an eye out for that (thanks).
There don't seem to be any fault lights up but I know you can often
get a heads-up of things going bad but not actually failed by looking
at any logged codes. Plus I like playing with such things ... 'what
you can measure you can manage ... ' ;-)

Ok. If someone had 'a van' that was otherwise clean, solid and suited
their needs very well, would it generally be worth fitting a second
hand engine (with a guarantee of some sort) over trying to look for a
replacement van (and possibly a whole load of other issues)?

Phew.

What sort of money are we talking about here (and could you point me
in the right direction of one you are familiar with please)?
I had quite a lot of success with the OpCom (VauxCom clone) when
faultfinding an intermittent ECU on the Meriva.

Yeah, I saw the scope screen but not had chance to try any of it yet
(weather, daughter out in the Van etc). ;-(

Is that why people fit Delphi or is that another thing?
I wish I had more (any) experience of this engine or the vehicle as
then I may have been more use when daughter was buying it. full 12
month MOT, started ran and stopped ok and the noise we (I) heard (and
questioned) went away when it warmed up so was happy to accept it was
'one of those things'. <shrug>
Thanks for the feedback. I really need some hand holding on this till
I've got better understanding of it all so any assistance we can get
is very appreciated. ;-)
Cheers, T i m

I think any of the F9DA /B fit, I bought one allegedly with 45k miles
on clock off a dealer on ebay and it's been fine for over 10k miles.

We did because the connect was sound but over 150k miles and showing a
bit of blue smoke, so the engine out of the focus for less than 500
quid cw injectors and pump suited us, fitter did it in just over a
day.

Bear in mind it's hacked ford copyrighted material but 115 euros, the
real thing is about 1800 quid plus an annual licence I think. The data
cd that came with mine was corrupt and the seller not helpful but a
fellow ford owner loaded it on a stick for me. You only need the data
for reprogramming so not much to miss.
We have 10 transits, a ranger and 5 fiestas plus the connect so it was
worth it to us.

Thanks for that. So should these do everything that Ford would be able
to do and therefore ever need doing please (within reason and on older
Fords possibly)?

Ok.

We have a Ford (/ Rickman) Ranger but no OBD ports to be seen. ;-)

Ok.
Update on the Connect noises. Daughter used it for maybe 20 miles this
morning, no squealing noise. She drove me around a bit and we
collected the antifreeze, no squealing. We changed the antifreeze and
ran it up to temp, again, not a squeak? ;-(
However, I did get a chance to look at the aux belts and pulleys and
found:
If I try to turn the alternator either direction I can't. It does move
as much as the belt will allow, just I was expecting the one way
clutch (that I believe is in the pulley itself) to allow me to turn
the alternator one way?
What looks like an idler pulley has a bit of sideways movement and
that it looks a bit dry / rusty around the centre hub?
The PS pump pulley looks concentric and has no movement that I can
detect. Didn't have a lever to put on the crank pulley but see how I
could. Not sure I can see or get to the tensioner.
It would be nice to see a picture of the path of the aux belt as I
have found for other / similar engines.
Cheers, T i m

Today it's making the 'other' noise I have heard it make briefly
before. It's much more of a chirrup / screech:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5772409/18TDC1%20noises%202.mp4
As you hear the screech stop / hesitate, the engine jolts slightly?
When (if?) she gets back with the van I'll take the aux belt cover off
and check all the pulleys and possibly give them a focused spray of
lube and see if that affects anything (then I'll know what we need to
replace etc).
Any bets as to what it might be? ;-)
Cheers, T i m

My bet is: Crankshaft pulley breaking up, you would probably find that
removing the aux. belt stops the noise, altering the alternator load by
turning the lights etc. on may also vary the noise, which usually occurs
after the first start of the day when the alternator gets wound to max.
output by the smart charge system. IIRC the pulley is about 80 quid.

Firstly, thanks very much again for your time etc.
A pulley breaking up? What are they made of on these things,
cardboard? ;-(
Ok, if it is that then I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be too upset with
having to fit a new pulley, certainly compared with all the other
things it could be!
Funnily I thought it might be alternator (bearings) as the first (and
only till earlier today) time I heard it was just after she had
started it up. I'd not thought that something like a pulley might be
causing such a noise, unless it was the alternator pulley etc.
As you say, given the noise seems to be linked to what could be the
load on the alternator, that load has to be matched by the crank
pulley, plus any other background loads that are present on that same
aux belt.
She's not back yet but is the aux belt cover easy to remove and would
I be able to see said self-destruction of the pulley from the ground
or would I have to get it up in the air?
Thanks again, cheers, T i m

The aux belt only has a cover underneath. The crank pulley is made in
two parts with rubber damping between them, you may or may not be able
to easily tell if the pulley has broken up, with the belt off it may be
possible to wiggle the outer against the inner, or rotate one part
against the other, but you only need a little metal to metal movement to
make a noise. If the noises stop with the belt off you know that it
must be one of the things run by it, either the crank pulley or one of
the idlers is the most likely, if the noise varies with alternator load
then my money is on the crank pulley, the idlers have fairly constant load.
Another possibility: Some models (not all, and no idea which years)
have an overrun one way clutch on the alternator, the alternator is set
back a bit from the belt line and has a sort of extended lump that
drives it. If the one way clutch thing has broken up, that might cause
the noises you have recorded.

Ah, like a motorcycle sprocket 'cush drive' (rubber bushes between hub
and sprocket).

I've since seen such on Youtube so it now all makes sense (so thanks
for the heads up).

Check.

Understood.

Check, again. Now I know what the problem might be, I see one of two
consequences. Assuming the pulley doesn't fall apart or it's
randomness impact on anything else (like the premature death of a
tensioner), then it won't do any major harm if left for a bit?
If it is a guide / tensioner and it (it's bearing) locks up, then I'm
guessing that wouldn't do the belt any good?

Yup, ours has one of those, I spotted it earlier and wondered it's
purpose. In fact, I even considered that if it was some sort of
non-rigid coupling, what was it that was carrying the belt load to
said coupling? eg, There must be a well supported pulley that would in
turn, pass the rotational effort out to the alternator. The length of
the whole system (from aux belt to alternator body) looked way too
long to supported what I felt would be the loads seen on the aux belt
by the alternator alone. Looks like my unspoken 'observations' may
have had a point. ;-)

And another place to look then. ;-)
Thanks once again for the feedback. Plenty of practical things to
investigate now.
Cheers, T i m

If it is the pulley it will get noisier over time, but not likely to
suddenly fall off. If it is an idler (quite feasible) it is easily
heard with the stethoscope, it may well die suddenly and take the belt.

... Was the right answer (potentially). ;-)
So, outside in the wind a rain daughter and I (me mainly supervising
and helping where necessary) removed the Alternator Decoupler Pulley
and replaced it with a new one.
Now, the noises we initially heard that may have been the start of the
pulley failing haven't been back for a while because the pulley had
seized solid. So, fitting a new one wouldn't change that but it would
allow the system to run as designed. ;-)
We initially tried to undo the pulley in situ (there are some flats on
the short connecting shaft) but couldn't get enough purchase and
assuming we needed to get the air-gun on it anyway, removed the entire
coupling shaft. We were then able to hold the assembly in the vice
(via a spanner on the flats) and use a breaker bar and the splined
tool to remove the pulley, as my little compressor didn't have enough
'oomph to run the cheapo air wrench.
It all went back on easily enough (well, she made it look easy with
her nimble fingers <g>) and she fitted a new belt while she was at it.
I think she might get a new idler pulley as it feels a bit 'slack' but
she said it wasn't noisy to turn so it would be just ready for the
next time we were under there.
OOI, the new (poly-vee) belt looked 'conventional' to me (just
continuous ribs on one side) whereas the one we took off looked like
it was also cross-cut, with diagonal grooves cut across the poly-v
ribs? I'm assuming that was to help with flexibility?
She gave it an oil change, oil filter and air filter while we were at
it (so we know exactly when it was done etc) and I think someone was
having a laugh at Fords when they fitted the oil filter where they
did! Luckily, her nimble fingers were able to get my chain / strap
tool round the canister and got it off easy enough.
The next job is to replace the trailer lighting socket (a connector
has pulled out) then see if we can locate the source of a 'clonk' from
the n/s/f as you go over small bumps and dips (we took the wheel off
and checked the drop link but that seems ok, as did the road spring,
strut and everything else) and then to get and fit a new rear bumper
complete and try pulling a dent out of the front bumper over rider
thing. ;-)
Also, I'm not sure if the engine mounts are getting a bit tired (100k
miles) but the engine does seem to wobble quite a bit and easily?
I can see the o/s mount and apart from being a bit perished, seems to
be intact but we haven't been able to see the others yet.
All the best and thanks for your help MrC. ;-)
Cheers, T i m

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